PHILSYS SIGN UP. A young girl poses for a photo for her Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) identification card in this undated photo. Mobile teams have been deployed to reach out to residents that need to be registered with PhilSys. (PNA file photo by PGLena)
ILOILO CITY – Over 5.5 million or 69.10 percent of the 7.9 million population of Western Visayas are now registered with the Philippine Identification System (PhilSys) as of March 21, 2022.
The Philippine Regional Statistical Services Office 6 (RSSO 6) of the Philippine Statistical Authority (PSA) OIC Regional Director Nelida Amolar, in an interview on Friday, said the coverage consists of the face-to-face step 1 and 2 registration, and step 1 of the online registration.
All registration teams except for those assigned in fixed centers inside the malls have been deployed down to the barangays, institutions, and far-flung areas to reach out to those who are unlisted with the PhilSys, Amolar added.
“We are just mapping out what was left of the four provinces that were piloted before. Our challenge is more on transportation so we are glad that some local government units are supporting our teams,” she said.
The provinces of Antique, Capiz, Iloilo and Negros Occidental were among the areas identified for the pilot of the PhilSys registration in 2020.
Amolar said the health pandemic no longer hampers the registration, especially since most of the provinces in the region are already under Alert Level 1.
The fixed registration centers in Iloilo are based at the Iloilo Midtown Hotel, Robinsons Place Iloilo, and SM City while 24 mobile teams are deployed in the province.
A standby team has been deployed at the PSA civil registration outlet for applicants with no national IDs.
Meanwhile, 1, 563,718 IDs have been delivered out of the 1,674,786 national IDs received by the Philippine Postal Corporation (PHLPost) for distribution.
“The PSA, with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and PHLPost is trying its best that all those who registered can receive their IDs this year,” Amolar said.
She said nationwide, 16 million out of the 31 million target IDs for this year have been printed and the target is to release all IDs by the end of December 2022.
Signed into law by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in August 2018, Republic Act 11055, or the Philippine Identification System Act, aims to establish a single national ID for all Filipinos and resident aliens.
The national ID shall be a valid proof of identity that shall be a means of simplifying public and private transactions, enrollment in schools, and the opening of bank accounts.
It will also boost efficiency, especially in dealing with government services where people will only need to present one ID during transactions. (PNA)
